Gerard Woodward (born 1961) is a British

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and short story writer, best known for his trilogy of novels concerning the troubled Jones family, the second of which, '' I'll Go to Bed at Noon'', was shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize.

Biography

Woodward was born in North London and attended St Ignatius College, a Jesuit comprehensive school, leaving at 16 to work for two years in a variety of jobs before studying painting at

Falmouth School of Art Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He dropped out in his second year but later attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, where he studied Social Anthropology, and Manchester University, where he studied for an MA in the same subject. In 1989 he won a major Eric Gregory Award for poets under 30 and his first collection of poetry, ''Householder'', won the

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

in 1991. His first novel, ''

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

'', was shortlisted for the

Whitbread Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

. In 2011 he was writer in residence at Columbia College,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He has taught or been a writer in residence in many countries including China, Greece, Sweden, Slovenia and Ireland. He is currently Professor of Fiction at

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The insti ...

Awards

*1989 Eric Gregory Award *1991 ''Householder'' made Poetry Book Society Choice *1991 Somerset Maugham Award *1991 J.L.Rhys Award *1994 ''After The Deafening ''made Poetry Book Society Choice *1994 T.S.Eliot Prize (shortlisted) *2001 Whitbread First Novel Award (shortlisted) *2004 Man Booker Prize (shortlisted) *2004 Encore Award (shortlisted) *2005 Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature *2011 Sunday Times Short Story Award (shortlisted) *2014 Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize *2017 O.Henry Award *2019 Honorary Doctorate Middlesex University

Bibliography

Poetry

*''The Unwriter & Other Poems'' (1989) *''Householder'' (1991), *''After the Deafening'' (1994), *''Island to Island'' (1999), *''We Were Pedestrians'' (2005), *''The Seacunny'' (2012) *''The Vulture'' (2022)

Fiction

*''

'' (2001), , shortlisted for the 2001

Whitbread Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

*'' I'll Go to Bed at Noon'' (2004), , shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize *'' A Curious Earth'' (2007) *'' Caravan Thieves'' (short stories; 2008) *''Nourishment'' (2010; published as ''Letters from an Unknown Woman'' in the US) *''Vanishing'' (2014) *''Legoland'' (short stories; 2016), *''The Paper Lovers'' (2018)

References

1961 births Living people Alumni of Falmouth University Alumni of the London School of Economics 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists English male poets Academics of Bath Spa University Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers {{UK-poet-stub